Around The Home Garden. 2nd Jan 2015.

Santa brought me a new Canon SX60 HS (point and shoot bridge type) camera for Xmas so this is a bit of a practice run to work out what does what.

Although not a DSLR, I'm trying it out using more of the manual settings, and that's where all the 'head scratching' occurs. The one big improvement I've noticed over the old (SX10) camera is that the blue in the flowers show more, those from the older camera the blues would be washed out in full sunlight. Also, the pinks don't seemed to be as washed out.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Brassia verrucosa  -  Warty Brassia.
Orchid native to Central and South America.

Banksia Robur  -  Swamp Banksia.       (native)

Felicia amelloides  -  Blue Daisy, Blue Marguerite.

Crinum pedunculatum  -  Swamp Lily.     (native)

Bursaria spinosa  -  Sweet Bursaria, Black Thorn.     (native)

Phalaenopsis  -  Moth Orchid.

Epacris longiflora  -  Fuchsia Heath.   (native)

One of the Pelagonia's.

Flowers of Oregano.

Leaf-cutter Bees have been making good use of our Abelia x grandiflora (Glossy Abelia).

Salvia uliginosa  -  Bog Sage.

Salvia uliginosa  -  Bog Sage.

Hymenocallis sp.  -  Spider Lily, Sacred Lily Of The Incas.

Zephyranthes grandifolia  -  Rain Lily

Fuchsia

Polka Dot Plant  -  Hypoestes sp.

Brillantaisia nitens  -  Tropical Giant Salvia.

Leaf of a Tree Bogonia.

Goodenia ovata  -  Hop Goodenia  (native)

Plectranthus sp.,  local native.

Flowers of Lucerne that self-seeded from lucerne hay mulch.

Commelina cyanea  -  Scurvy Weed    (native)

One of the Salvias.

Crowea exalata x saligna  -  Crowea 'Festival'   (native)

Geitonoplesium cymosum  -  Scrambling Lily   (native)

Flowers and fruits of Ardisia crenata  -  Coral Ardisia.

Wahlenbergia sp.  -  Native Bluebell.

FEATHERS, FUR and FANG.                 Some Of The Wildlife Seen Today.

Red-bellied Black Snake  (poisonous)

An Eastern Water-skink 'planking' near the pond.

Noisy Miner, a native species that drives away all the other smaller
(and some larger) native birds.

One of the Hawk Month caterpillars hangs upside down on a native grape.

Adult Grey Butcherbird. Uses hook on beak to pull apart prey it jams into tree forks.

Dragon Fly, depositing eggs into pond.

St Andrews Cross Spider

Dragon Fly

A small Damsel Fly.

Common Crow Butterfly on Sweet Burseria.    (native)

Camera:  Canon PowerShot SX60 HS

Quarry Road Dural. 28th December 2013.

Found two out of the three targeted species today, but in the progress scored a bonus. Christmas Bells and  Hyacinth Orchid were 2 of the 3 with the missing one, once again, was the Snake Orchid, found one with seed pods but no flowers. The bonus was a second species of Hyacinth Orchid.

A surprise was finding a white Tetratheca (Black-eyed Susan) as these are usually pink.

Blandfordia nobilis  -  Christmas Bell.

Scaevola ramosissima  -  Purple Fan-flower, Snake Flower.

Angophora hispida  -  Dwarf Apple, Scrub Apple.
Looking sad but still colourful  after flowering.

Angophora costata  -  Sydney Red Gum, Smooth. Barked Apple.

Acacia linifolia.  - Flax-leafed Wattle.

Persoonia pinifolia  - Pine-leaf Geebung.

Petrophile puchehella - Conesticks.

Tetratheca ericifolia  -  Black-eyed Susan.

Tetratheca ericifolia  -  Black-eyed Susan  (white).
This was the first time I had seen a white flowered plant as they are normally pink.

One of the Mistletoes.   The sticky fruit was not as nice as some I've tried.

Dampiera stricta  -  Blue Dampiera.

Lambertia formosa  -  Mountain Devil. 

Dipodium punctatum  - Hyacinth Orchid, Christmas Orchid.

Dipodium variegatum  -  Slender Hyacinth Orchid,  Blotched Hyacinth Orchid, Spotted Hyacinth Orchid.

Caesia parviflora  -  Grass Lily.

Grevillea buxifolia  -  Grey Spider-flower.

Banksia serrata  -  Old Man Banksia.
Fallen seed cone with a new seedling. 

Lomatia silaifolia  -  Crinkle Bush.

Eucalyptus haemastoma  -  Scribbly Gum.
Scribbles are cause by a moth larvae. 

Hybanthus vernonii  -  Erect Violet.

A collection of Scribbly Gums in the afternoon sun.

This battle-scarred Scribbly Gum is sill hanging on after I first photographed it some 28 years ago.

TODAY'S  LANDSCAPE / HABITAT. 

Wiggly lines/tracks on rocks are where native slugs have eaten off the algae.

Snake Plant, Hyacinth Orchid, Crinkle Bush, Flannel Flower, Match-heads, Christmas Bells.

Hakea and rock shelf with grinding grooves (hidden).

Grass Trees and boulders.

Sydney Red Gum and scattered Eucalypts.

Photographing plants in the wild does have its dangers.

FEATHERS, FUR and FANG.                 Some Of The Wildlife Seen Today.

Copper-tailed Skink.

Camouflaged larvae on Lesser Flannel Flower.

Double Drummer Cicada, responsible for all the noise on the videos.

One of the Orb-web spiders.  Ambush or Triangular Spider  -  Backobourkia heroine.

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One of the 'stink' bugs.

Little Eagle (?)

St Andrews Cross Spider.

A pretty fly.

I thinks it's an ant.

In the past I have seen Peacock chicks crossing the road near where I saw this proud male strutting his stuff along the roadway.

Peacock.